Peyton Manning hopeful for return this season
INDIANAPOLIS — Peyton Manning still believes he can get back on the field this season for the struggling Colts.
He is not saying when that might be.
“I think you have to have hope until the doctors rule you out,” Manning said Thursday in his first comments in the Indy locker room since the latest surgery on his injured neck. “We’re having a lot of injuries so if they come to me and say they have to make a move, I won’t fight them on that.”
Manning said he feels good following a Sept. 8 procedure that was his third neck surgery in a span of 19 months.
The anterior fusion procedure typically requires making an incision in the front of the neck, removing soft disk tissue between the vertebrae and fusing the bones together with a graft. The usual recovery time, according to doctors not handling Manning’s case, is 2-3 months.
The Colts have kept Manning on the active roster instead of placing their franchise quarterback on injured reserve in hopes he will return to the practice field in December.
Nobody has said whether Manning is expected to play in a game this season.
But doctors, Manning said, are taking X-rays every four weeks to monitor the healing. It has gone well enough that Manning has been cleared to stand on the sideline during Sunday’s game between the Colts (0-4) and Kansas City (1-3).
“I had a bad feeling being up there in the press box with you guys,” Manning joked. “Warm-ups are actually probably scarier than the game, but I just had a bad vibe being up there.”
Perhaps that’s because the Colts are winless without Manning, including 0-3 with him in the press box.
Manning has been seen around the team complex the last few weeks, primarily walking laps around the practice field. He also has been attending team meetings and served as an adviser for Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter, the two replacements who have taken snaps in Manning’s place.
Vice chairman Bill Polian told radio listeners this week that Manning had been increasing his activity recently, something Manning confirmed. He did not provide details of the rehabilitation process.